Eve Peaboy, a ex-showgirl, arrives in Paris without a cent to her name. She attracts the attention of Hungarian cab driver, Tibor Czerny, who drives her around all night looking for a job. While there is obvious chemistry between the two, Eve ends up fleeing, not willing to commit to love over money. Eve goes on to crash a socialite's late night soiree where she poses as Baroness Czerny, catching the eye of aristocrat Georges Flammarion, who doesn't see through her deception. Instead of exposing her fraud, Georges entices her with a life of luxury in return for Eve seducing his wife's playboy lover. Meanwhile, Tibor hasn't been able to shake Eve from his mind, employing all means necessary to find her and convince her that love trumps money. Mitchell Leisen's Midnight is a funny, charming and smart screwball comedy that ultimately centers around the age old debate of love vs. money. It's a incredibly well paced film, that is full of tons of great twists and turns which only heats up when Tibor arrives at the Flammarion estate to win back Eve, posing as the Baron himself. Almost every character in this film is deceptive to the others about their true intentions, making for an incredibly playful experience as each character tries to stay ahead of one and other. Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder's screenplay is not only a comedic riot, it also draws a nice parallel between the rich and the poor. Throughout the film we see their differences - how Tibor uses manpower to break down these societal barriers and find Eva - using the army of cabbies to get the information of Eva's whereabouts from the Ritz hotel, for example. It's subtle but we also see the differences in attitude, appearance, and economic means between the working class and this group of socialites. My only real complaint is that I found the conclusion to be a little too rushed, nonetheless, Midnight is a film that doesn't seem to get nearly as much credit as it deserves in being one of the better screwball comedies of the era. 9/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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